An unbeaten 93 by S Badrinath steer Tamil Nadu to an eight-wicket win over Bengal and take his team to the semi-finals of the Ranji Trophy on the fourth and final day of the match.

With a first innings lead of 39 and 173 runs to the good overall, Bengal appeared to be slightly better off. But Tamil players bounced back into the game strongly and bundled out Bengal for 187. Tamil Nadu batsman then ransacked the Bengal bowlers and notched up the victory target of 227 by just losing two wickets.

Pondicherry (Tamil Nadu), Dec 30 : A court in Puducherry will today hear the Sankararaman murder case, in which Kanchi Sankaracharyas, Jayendra Saraswathi and his junior Vijayendra Saraswathi are the main accused.

On December 19, the court had deferred the hearing after the Tamil Nadu Special Public Prosecutor (TNSPP) Balasundaram filed a counter to the objections raised by the Kanchi Seer''s defence counsel.

On Thursday, chief minister M Karunanidhi warned that legal actions would be taken against those who are functioning or speaking in support of the banned organizations. The announcement came as the signs of tension between the Congress and pro-LTTE parties were growing.

It might come as a surprise to many of us but a nine year old girl has been able to pass a Microsoft Certified Professional examination, and has become the youngest person to ever pass this test.

M. Lavinashree, who belongs to the rural Tamil Nadu, cleared the exam, taken by techies for better job prospects, with very good marks. The exam measures problem-solving skills.

She even broke the record held by Arfa Karim, a ten-year-old Pakistani girl.

Chennai, Dec 25 : The Tamil Nadu AIDS Initiative and Voluntary Health Services (TAI-VHS) brought about 20,000 transgenders and marginalized women together to showcased their talents.

The transgenders had recently showcased their talents by performing Bharatanatyam and folk dances.

The newly formed federation aims at empowering their community and making them self-reliant in the society.

Chennai, Dec 23 : Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati addressed a huge rally here in an attempt to expand her party base in Tamil Nadu.

Mayawati addressing the rally said that her party was not caste-based and support of all sections was required for obtaining power in the state.

"Our party believes that we need to address the concerns of all sections of the society in Tamil Nadu because without that neither our party can benefit all sections, nor can it come to power in the State," said Mayawati.